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ISOLATION, EXCELLENT READINGS, QUALITY, SERVICE AND SATISFACTION
10539 North 104 Road Hooper, CO 81136 719.754.9048 office 719.754.2592 fax zapataseed@gojade.org
Certified Potato Seed Varieties
CO95172-3RU
CO97087-2RU
Russets
Reds
In the heart of the beautiful San Luis Valley, at an altitude of 7,600 feet, Zapata Seed Company is dedicated exclusively to producing the highest quality potato seed stocks. The areas natural isolation, intense summer sun, high altitude vigor and sandy-loam soils are ideal for producing quality seed potatoes. Farm owner and operator Brian Brownell still farms much of the same land today that he grew up irrigating with siphon tubes and a shovel. He and his wife Deborah raised four children in the same house he grew up in located in the center of their 14 circle farm. Brian has his bachelor's degree in agronomy from Colorado State University and has been an active member of the community both locally and nationally. The third generation of Brownells is currently helping the operation continue to be a vibrant organization.
Started in 1993, ZSC now specializes in seed production exclusively, with over 20 varieties and 700+ acres of Nuclear to G4 potato seed. To maintain clean quality seed, ZSC operates its own micropropagation laboratory, climatically controlled growth room and two greenhouse facilities. Each seed lot is isolated by bin, in modern steel storage cellars with variable speed fans which are computer monitored.
Strict sanitation has, and continues to be, a key to ZSC's success in both the greenhouse and the field. Mother plants for the greenhouse cuttings come from Colorado State University clone bank to ensure that they are free of disease and genetically pure. Each of the 110,00 plantlets required for a greenhouse crop is extensively inspected for any irregularity before planting or further cutting. Two visual inspections are made on each greenhouse crop as well as and ELISA test on tubers of each lot grown. In the field and cellars, all equipment is routinely washed and sterilized to prevent spread of pathogen from field to field or lot to lot.
ZSC maintains a strict IPM regimen beginning with soil grid sampling, seed treatment, intense field scouting, strict scheduling of insecticides and pesticides, low fertilizer inputs to help with disease expression, experienced roguing crews and early kill of potatoes to prevent late season spread of insect borne diseases. For the last 10 years ZSC has been adding beneficial fungal and bacterial micro-organisms to the soil with compost and compost teas. Also, the addition of sudan, a green manure crop, into the crop rotation provides an extra level of disease suppression while reducing water usage.
ZSC is a licensed grower of Colorado Norkotah lines and Texas Norkotah lines along with PVMI varieties as well as various experimental lines for evaluation and possible future production. We offer custom minituber and variety production as well as custom seed cutting. Seed stocks are sold in Colorado, Texas, Idaho, North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, California, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
